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Contest winner is going to Sicily

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:24:48 +0000

Contessa Vacations gives away vacation week for two

Colleen Cole from Brampton, Ontario is the lucky winner of our popular contest to win a culinary and cultural vacation in Ragusa, Sicily.

Colleen is marrying John Sinipoli in October, and now has a ready-made honeymoon dropped in her lap. Not surprisingly, she is thrilled to twitters! This baby boomer is off to Italy, a dream come true.

This is what she told us, once she’d calmed down from the excitement …

“I can’t express how excited I am to have won the week in Sicily! The food, the wine, the excursions we will be taking into the country visiting dairies and olive groves, and the nightly cooking classes, I don’t know which is more exciting! This will be the best wedding present ever! John and I are getting married in October, and I am pleased to tell you that we will be enjoying this week as our honeymoon! Thank you so much!”

Colleen and Tempo Toronto thank Contessa Vacations for this amazing prize. Colleen will let us all know about her fabulous trip in the fall.

Running on Faith

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:42:15 +0000

Intuition prevails

I chose to celebrate the arrival of Spring with a jog – stretch my legs, smell the earth, hear the birds cheering on the warming weather. Having just attended a business meeting prior to my jog I still wore my treasured dangly earrings. Deciding to run in style this day, I left them on.

Just six paces into my run, I realized I had been optimistic. Now the earrings were no longer dangling sensuously on my neck, but banging distractedly and definitely in conflict with the rhythm of my feet and heart. I removed them and carefully placed one in each pocket so they wouldn’t damage each other.

My run was invigorating. I lost myself in the beauty of the wildness around me. After completing my circuit of about a mile, I reached into my pocket and realized one of my earrings had leapt out during my unnoticed.

I was not concerned. I knew I could retrace my steps and the bright green charmers would be easy to spot in the still-brown earth and vegetation. An easy task awaited me. Bonus …I got to run another lap of my circuit. This was definitely win-win.

Off I went, glad for the motivation to prolong my run. Being an analytical woman, I carefully planned my route around the field. The lost treasure had been in my right pocket, so I positioned myself towards the left of the trail to give me the best viewing angle of the ground I had covered. After carefully retracing my route, my earring remained unfound and free. I thought about this, puzzled that it hadn’t been so easily located in my oh-so-methodical search. I considered that it just didn’t want to be found, and contemplated resigning myself to its new found freedom.

But, I love that earring. As well as being beautiful, it has great sentimental value. All my spiritual teachings came to me in a flash. Use your one point, that centre below the navel where our intuition and fibres reside. Trust your intuition, I told myself, that Inner Knowing. Let go of the thoughts in your head.

I began my third lap of the field, this time with an empty mind and my focus on my fibres, asking them to take me to my earring and trusting in the outcome. My steps were unhesitating and within minutes I was standing over the lostling. I lovingly scooped it up.

Gratitude immediately filled me and I laughed aloud. Not at having found the earring, but for having faith that my inner knowing will always take me to places where my mind never can.

by Silver Willow

Book: The Best of Everything After 50

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:10:04 +0000

Two years in the making, Barbara Hannah Grufferman created this go-to reference – published in April 2010 – based on her desire to access the best of everything in her fifties so that she could remain as stylish, healthy and happy as she had always been. She had a mission to share with other women who had passed the half-century mark the best expert advice that New York’s doctors, personal trainers, stylists, fashion gurus and financial planners had to offer . Before, she had been a successful magazine publisher, named by Advertising Age as “Publishing Star on the Rise”. This is her first book.

“When I reached 51, this project started off being all about me,” said Barbara in a recent interview. “I spent my time collecting information from experts, curated the best of it and then distilled it into “The Best of Everything After 50, for others to enjoy. My greatest hope from this is that my readers will get themselves ready in terms of health and their physical beings, shed a lot of ‘stuff’, and be ready for the next chapter in their lives.”

What’s the Toronto connection? Barbara Grufferman’s book parallels the mission for Tempo Toronto. Exactly. Toronto’s over-50s have the same needs as those in New York. As well, Toronto’s Julia Moulden, author of “We Are The New Radicals: A Manifesto for Reinventing Yourself and Saving the World” and creator of The New Radicals movement, helped out. She provided excellent content for Barbara’s “What’s Next?” section under “The New Radical Path”.

“We were simpatico”, said Julia. “It was clear that we are speaking to the same kind of people – those eager to make some kind of contribution. We know that it’s not ‘over’ for over-fifties, but we are a generation that tended to overspend and under-save, which means we’ll probably have to work longer. We all need to be ready for that.”

Barbara’s book is a 255-page paperback. With 15 sections, it’s tough to go into great depth for any topic. But for sure each part helps set you on the right path, and doesn’t waste time in getting to the point. That’s one of the beauties of the book: no wasted words. It’s all about practical tips for style, make-up, sex, health, finance, and myriad other topics, and as it’s written by and for women over 50, it all makes sense. You can relate to it, it’s an easy read. The entire tome is full of guidance from experts such as Diane von Furstenberg, Laura Geller, Patricia Wexler …

This book is worth picking up – only $20 in Canada. Published by Running Press

Toronto’s LG Fashion Week March 2010

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:26:36 +0000

Linda Lundstrom designs shone on the catwalk

Set in the comfortable and commodious Allstream Building at the Ex, this March’s LG Fashion Week was the place to be for fashionistas, designers, and those just wanting to observe the chaotic frenzy that is Fashion Week. Or simply just look at designer stuff.

If you have never been, then believe me it’s wild, crazy and noisy – and lots of fun.

People are there to see and be seen, of course. But it is truly the heart of the fashion business in Toronto. The lights, the music, the atmosphere, the L’Oreal VIP and VVIP lounges and the crazy, funky, fashion people – plus we ordinary mortals – makes for an energizing atmosphere. You can get your hair and make-up touched up in between shows, get a close look at newest L’Oreal products (“because you’re worth it!”) and see what’s on offer from local business: MoRoCo Chocolate had a dress ‘made’ of macaroons on display, for example.

Wanting to be there specifically to see the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection of Linda Lundstrom, one of Toronto’s well-known and much loved designers, we took our seats and waited to see what Linda had ‘up her sleeves’ (pardon the pun) for real women, with real women’s bodies. Even though on the catwalk the models are other-worldly, a touch on the slender side, the clothes look great. We had the good fortune to sit with two Lundstrom afficianodos: Mette Uffe (left in the picture) sporting an elegant charcoal grey Lundstrom turtleneck shift in comfortable bamboo, and her good friend Susanne Staer. Three out of the four of us were well over 50, and all appreciated Linda’s designs. She knows how to dress real women, and make them feel good.

Her collection was fabulous. Mette and Susanne agreed. The coats, especially – I can’t wait for fall.

And thank you to Mette and Susanne for becoming our newest Tempo Toronto readers and members.

Spinal decompression worked for me

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:29:29 +0000

One-sided view of spinal decompression on CBC

X-rays showed zero disc space between two vertebrae in the lower back. My dear family chiropractor couldn’t help me any more, my family doctor scheduled CT scans and an MRI, then I was scheduled for a visit to the neurosurgeon to go under the knife. This apparently was the only answer to the multiple disc herniations and degenerative disc disease that were causing the five years of agonizing and debilitating pain I had been experiencing.

It was so bad that I couldn’t stand, sit, lie down or sneeze without bringing myself to tears. Slow walking was all I could manage. Driving was painful, sex was out of the question. I gained 12lbs. Life was hell. No amount of exercise, yoga, painkillers or positive thinking helped.

While waiting for my surgical appointment time to arrive, I visited Dr. Richard Liem at the Low Back Clinic to see if he had anything to offer me. We started with a review of X-rays and scans, a thorough physical examination, and a long consultation discussing the pros and cons of his treatment offer. He believed I would be a good candidate for spinal decompression therapy, with the proviso that I understood that the success rate was less than 90%. It was my decision to proceed.

Five years in agony. Five days on the DRX9000. Pain gone.

The full treatment course lasts five weeks, and at no time did I experience pain or discomfort … just blissful relief. Within 12 weeks of starting treatment, I was doing everything I had missed out on for the previous five years. I started exercising, doing core strengthening to to ensure I retained my new-found, pain-free state. That was four years ago, and I have not looked back.

Tonight’s CBC Marketplace report told a tiny – and slanted – part of the story. I was shocked. This sounded like it was reporting on a parallel universe, clearly not this one with which I am familiar, first hand. Regardless of whomever is running other spinal decompression centres, Dr. Liem was nothing but thorough, caring, open and honest. Everyone is different, of course: at least 10% of people do not respond to the treatment; and there was never any claim that he could diagnose cancer – he’s a chiropractor! I was surprised by the one-sidedness of it all. Only one successful patient was interviewed, and even then it was suggested that his weight loss and exercise had played the larger part in his success.

If I hadn’t experienced great care for myself, I’d have been completely swayed by this report. And I’d have lost out on the fabulous quality of life I now can claim. I have never regressed, not in over four years. I do not feel swindled.

Read our report in the Living section.

Relief for chronic back pain

Hormonal balance

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:32:29 +0000

Bi-identical hormone replacement therapy – invented by a saint, perhaps?

Say what you want – no amount of talking, no amount of preparation, no amount of intellectualization can prepare a woman for menopause. Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, conventional HRT, toughing it out, taking anti-depressants or going on a spiritual cleanse – there are endless suggestions. Strange, that. Because while your hormones are going though this violent swing cycle, you are in no condition to make a rational decision.

This is the start of one woman’s struggle with a tough decision.

Who is this woman who strangely moved into my body in December? I mean the uninvited guest, the ugly witch, the crone from the deep. She – whoever she is – had no business occupying this temple, this aging vessel, heretofore positive, upbeat and energetic. Then, strangely, no longer so.

“I had no idea it would be like this”, whined Self One. Self Two said “Tough cookies, I have control.” And Dearly Beloved, patience personified, requested eviction of Self Two with immediate effect, even though he was handling the apparent personality change with aplomb. There is simply not enough room in our relationship for the three of us, especially when the uninvited one is so, well, horrid.

I’m the one who in the folly of youth tended to say “I’ll never … use a soother for my babies/get fat when I get older/get a divorce, and later …never use HRT. I lied.

No longer able to live like that, I took myself off to a naturopathic doctor for a full work-up, 25 vials of blood and all the other fascinating tests, and begged for relief. Dr. Jaconello is a thorough – though admittedly old fashioned – man, and I had to wait for all those test results, and repeated hormone level tests over a period of weeks, to come back.

Surprise! My levels were at record lows. Not surprising then that I had been feeling incapable of conducting a life with any meaning or purpose. Sparing you the ad nauseum details, Dr. J had a compounding pharmacy make me a customized supply of bio-identical hormones. Best part is they are completely customized for little old me. (Admittedly, for some BHRT is controversial, as is HRT – but this was not embarked upon without a considerable amount of research.)

Three weeks later, Self Two seems to have gone on vacation. “Good riddance,” says Self One.

Things are looking brighter. More reports to follow …

No related posts.

First time grandmother

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:12:54 +0000

Waiting to become a grandmother – worse than being pregnant?

I now totally understand how an expectant father feels waiting for his child to be born…..totally helpless. I actually feel really sorry for the guys. I was surprised at how stressed I felt the day my daughter, was induced. The baby was a week late, meaning we have all suffered for the last 41 weeks, through Becky’s long pregnancy.

When the day finally arrived, I was a total wreck. I paced the floor, drank endless cups of tea, finally switched to wine, and got really bitchy with my husband. It wasn’t his daughter going through this, it was mine. I ached for her.

After 26 hours of grueling labour under the helpful care at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Becky delivered – via C-section – an adorable hefty (nearly 9lb) baby.

Allowed to go home after just two days (ridiculous) I rushed over, not so much to coo over my new grandson, but to hold my daughter, tell her how much I loved her and how proud I was of her. The overwhelming love I felt for her, actually surprised me, I was more concerned at that moment about her rather than Jack. I watch her each day, growing in confidence as a new mother, and my heart fills with so much love for her. She is a very special woman, and I feel closer to her now than I think I have ever felt.

I am a besotted grandmother, my grandson is of course the most gorgeous baby, perfect in every way, I know I know, I’m biased!

I remember all over again how wonderful new babies smell as I nuzzle his little neck, I don’t care when I get milk in my hair or get pee’d on. How things have changed, I am amazed at disposable diapers, babies now sleeping on their backs and electric breast pumps… These amazing contraptions actually sound like milking machines for cows, they are very efficient, look painful, and I almost expect Becky to start mooing.

What hasn’t changed is the absolute miracle of a new life, the wonder of those little fingers and toes, and the emotions stirred at watching a baby sleeping. I am so blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my daughter and her lovely husband, who, by the way is going to be a great father. This is a new chapter in their lives together, and consequently is a new and wonderful chapter in mine.

Sob! (happily)

JJ’s Journal: beauty strategy

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:27:05 +0000

A regular appointment with a girl’s best friend: her gay boyfriend

To go under the knife … or not?

I don’t care what anyone says – I love dividing the world up into two different types and making broad generalizations about all of humanity.

It’s endlessly fascinating and somehow, somewhere, no matter your position on an issue, or the group you fall into, you can be sure you’re right. At least to the people on your side of the equation.

Bless us; the human race – so obligingly divide-able and no more so than by those two famed groups: those who might choose youth-enhancing cosmetic procedures, and those who swear – at the age of 21 – that they know they will choose to grow old ‘naturally’ and are slightly saddened by the vanity of the elderly person so pathetic as to wish to look younger.

The friends and I always get a chuckle out of that particular one – because whether you would elect to nip and tuck yourself into the Bride of Wildenstein (Google the name if it’s unfamiliar – she’s well worth a look and a gasp) or age effortlessly into Helen Mirren territory, the only thing we can ever really know for sure is that at 21 it’s laughable to imagine for a moment such a fate could ever possibly happen to you.

But by the time one advances along the age continuum, the debate has shifted from the hypothetical to the increasingly noted instance of similarly age-advanced friends swapping doctor’s names like players in a fantasy football league. Not that everybody does it; my very best friend at the age of 50 (and just a shade more) hasn’t done a thing, but unlike the rest of us, who find it fun to daydream, is serenely silent on the topic. Not a peep out of her in favour of Juvederm versus Restylane… or even vice versa.

So how does she resist the lure of not only not experimenting, but not even speculating? I stumble across her secret during one recent Saturday afternoon latte-date when an idle conversation turned into a surprisingly well-researched dialogue on the inflated faces of the famous.

“… and they say Liz Hurley had her lips pumped up,” says the gf. “Why? She had a perfectly nice mouth before… I have to ask myself if these women even look at themselves in the mirror. I mean Lisa Rinna – those lips! And Madonna…”

“Those cheeks!” I interject. “I mean, she’s no Joan Rivers, but she’s starting to look like…”

“Priscilla Presley!” my well-informed friend adds.

“Well, I was going to say Cher, but I could just as easily have said Meg Ryan. What I want to know is how you know so much about it.”

She smiles and names one of my favourite guilty pleasures: awfulplasticsurgery.com – a website that more than delivers on the promise of its provocative name.

“It’s my secret weapon for resisting temptation,” she explains. “I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, but for the time being, just a few minutes online looking at a few celebrity train wrecks and suddenly I feel gorgeous just as I am.”

Okay – so there are three groups of people into which the world can be divided: Those who would choose to, those who would choose not to…and those who choose not to choose at least for now – choosing just to feel beautiful instead.

[It's not ALL bad! In April, Tempo Toronto will be featuring a story on eye surgery, well done, by Dr. Trevor Born Toronto's favourite cosmetic surgeon. Ed]

Develop your own personal brand

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:02:47 +0000

Create your own personal brand by winning a free image consultation At Marilyn’s, Home of the Wardrobe Doctor, 200 Spadina Avenue, Toronto. North of Queen www.marilyns.ca. The contest closes at midnight on May 31.

The two winners of this contest will spend an hour with Marilyn Wetston, The Wardrobe Doctor, at her store on Spadina Avenue. She will share her decades of expertise in dressing women to convey the best image. Each winner will

Learn why image is important
Learn how to pull together an affordable wardrobe; create an image that speaks
Learn how to use current fashion trends to your best advantage
Learn how to use accessories to make your unique personal statement

Easy to enter

Stunning woven silk/cashmere pashmina only $15 at Marilyn's

Email to us a picture of you, tell us your age range and what image you want to convey. On June 1, we’ll pick at random two entries, one from each prize category. The subject line should read “Contest entry: Marilyn’s”. Use email address tr@tempotoronto.ca (or use the email link above).

Two prizes!

This one is for women only. We have a Marilyn’s Image Consultation ready for someone between 50 and 59, and one for 60 and over, (sizes 8 to 20). Estimated value is $100 each prize.

Claiming the prize

Winners must claim their prize – book their image consultation – by June 30. This will be a one-hour appointment with Marilyn for a complimentary wardrobe and image consultation during regular opening hours at Marilyn’s on Spadina. Along with what they are wearing when the two winners arrive at the store, Marilyn invites the winners to bring with them up to three additional items of clothing with which the prize recipient would like some help to make ‘work better’ for the image they want to convey. A Tempo Toronto photographer will join you to record the ‘before and after’ of your wardrobe adjustments.

Hear Marilyn Wetston live in ‘ From a Woman’s Perspective’ on 740AM 8am Saturday mornings

Contest Rules

There is no limit to number of entries per person
The contest closes midnight on May 31. No entries will be accepted after that time.

You must sign in or create a membership to be eligible to enter
The prize is transferable to someone else who is female and over 50
The prize must be redeemed by June 30, 2010
The prize is for Canadian citizens only but is not restricted to Torontonians

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To be eligible, entries must be completed and received on or by the closing date of the draw. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. The contest is open to Canadian citizens of age of majority. Identification must be produced on request. The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded. Decisions of the contest judges are final – no substitutions will be available. By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness and/or voice/photograph and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture data storage) which Tempo Publishing deems appropriate.

In accepting the prize, the winner, and any guest(s), acknowledges that Tempo Toronto or Tempo Publishing may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize(s).

Winners and any guests at the age of majority must sign a release form as prepared and accepted by Tempo Publishing acknowledging their acceptance and understanding of the complete contest rules.

Tempo Publishing retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever.

This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws in Canada and Ontario.

Tempo Publishing reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.

Approximate value of prizes vary.

Raising $2M for Camp Trillium

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:29:08 +0000

At the annual Set Sail for Hope event every single penny raised goes to the children of Camp Trillium. How do they do it?

It’s rare. Very rare. But good. Spending $0 and raising $166,000 from one event, then sending every last penny of that to a group of local children struggling with cancer is no mean feat. And all this done against a backdrop of luxury yachts, gourmet food, and a uniquely upbeat charity event to which Toronto corporations and individuals enthusiastically divert their charitable giving.

A bunch of Toronto individuals with heart, that modestly describes themselves as a ‘rag-tag group’, has been volunteering their time for over 20 years to put on a mega-event that raises funds for worthy organizations. For more than a decade the beneficiary of Set Sail for Hope www.setsailforhope.com has been Camp Trillium www.camptrillium.com.

In all, the Set Sail for Hope crew has delivered close to $2 million for the benefit of children with cancer, many of whose families face crippling economic challenges too. Set Sail for Hope helps the children and their families to experience rewarding summer camp experiences together. Sadly, for some of those children it may be their last summer.

2009 was a really tough year to be fund raising, with so many worthy causes and so much less charitable donation funding available from corporations and individuals. It was really hard on Camp Trillium too.

Fiona Fisher, Director of Fundraising at Camp Trillium said,”For Camp Trillium we are looking at this as a year of survival and hard work. We have lost more kids to cancer this year than any other year in our history. Every week I get an e-mail from our clinic coordinator telling me another child has passed away and every week I realize my life is so much easier even in recession than anyone of the children that go to our camps. I am lucky to be part of Set Sail for Hope and I thank you for all of your extra work this year to make the event a success and to ensure that Camp Trillium has money to send children living with cancer to camp.”